Based on a memoir by government insider Yehuda Avner, it recalls some crucial moments in the administrations of Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir but ignores far more history than it illuminates.

The first half of a two-part documentary, “The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers” takes on a vast subject — the history of the modern state of Israel — from a disappointingly narrow perspective.

Directed by Richard Trank (“Winston Churchill: Walking With Destiny”), the film is based on a 700-page memoir by Yehuda Avner, who emigrated from England to Palestine in 1947 as an idealistic 19-year-old and went on to serve as adviser to four Israeli prime ministers: Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin. “The Pioneers” focuses on the first two, with a bit on Rabin’s rise through the diplomatic ranks serving as a teaser for the sequel.

Avner’s long history as a government insider certainly makes him an interesting interview. He recalls vivid details about Israel’s declaration of independence and years of subsequent warfare with surrounding Arab states. He gives particular attention to the development of the alliance between Israel and the United States in crucial diplomatic missions to secure military aid from Presidents Johnson and Nixon.

In one particularly affecting segment, the film re-creates a battlefield meeting between Meir and soldiers on the front line of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which the emotional prime minister assured the young fighters that their sacrifices would not be in vain.

Such details, however, never coalesce into a coherent narrative. For example, Meir is lauded for her hard-line stance against negotiating with terrorists, yet there is no mention of how she was affected by the Munich massacre during the 1972 Olympic Games. Nor is there any discussion of reports that she considered using nuclear weapons when Israeli forces were on the verge of defeat the following year.

Such omissions would be excusable if Avner’s own story were front and center or if he offered more of the kind of intimate insights into his former bosses that no other source could provide. Neither is true, however, and so “The Prime Ministers” comes off as an under-researched history gaping with holes (most notably, the crucial 13 years that the nascent nation was led by David Ben-Gurion).

Avner’s parochial point of view is augmented with documentary footage, but it’s not nearly enough to make up for what’s missing. Nor is the film elevated by the undramatic voice-over work of celebrity actors such as Sandra Bullock as Meir, and Leonard Nimoy, virtually monotonic as Eshkol.

Among the many historical documentaries on Israel there are to choose from, this one is tantamount to two hours of footnotes.